May 23, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 10,1423

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ISLAMABAD, May 22: The British High Commission has decided to close down its visa sections in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and drastically reduce its diplomatic presence in Pakistan.

“Only the visa sections are being closed down and the strength of diplomatic and other staff is being reduced for security reasons,” Media and Public Affairs Officer Rachel Jamison told Dawn.

She said that in Islamabad they had staff of 210, out of which 130 had been directed to leave Pakistan. In Karachi, 26 out of 36 staffers would be withdrawn.

She said the Lahore consulate, which was functioning with a staff strength of less than 10, would be closed down since all staff members had been withdrawn.

Giving reasons for the decision, she said they had been receiving terrorist threats for quite some time.

AGENCIES ADD: “The security threat to British interests in Pakistan has led me to take the difficult decision to reduce the level of diplomatic representation there,” Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a statement in London. “The British High Commission cannot judge the authenticity of the threats but is taking them seriously,” the mission in Islamabad said in a note to British citizens read to Reuters.

Mr Straw is to visit Pakistan and India next week in an effort to bring the nuclear-armed countries back from the brink of war.